Inappropriate Punishment

[Golfingnut]

Florida Penalties for Purchasing or possessing more than 20 grams of marijuana is a third degree felony, punishable with up to Five years in prison (Fl. Stat. Ann. § 893.13(2)(a).)

Florida Penalties for DUI First Conviction
Fine - $250 to $500
Community Service - 50 Hours
Probation - Not more than 1 Year
Imprisonment - Not more than 6 Months

Humm, I think the law makers got this one backwards. Keep in mind, there is 24 beers in a case. There is approximately 20 cigarettes in 20 grams.

[twinklesweep]

Florida Penalties for Purchasing or possessing more than 20 grams of marijuana is a third degree felony, punishable with up to Five years in prison (Fl. Stat. Ann. § 893.13(2)(a).)

Florida Penalties for DUI First Conviction
Fine - $250 to $500
Community Service - 50 Hours
Probation - Not more than 1 Year
Imprisonment - Not more than 6 Months

Humm, I think the law makers got this one backwards. Keep in mind, there is 24 beers in a case. There is approximately 20 cigarettes in 20 grams.

I think the numbers are meaningless, that is, 24 beers in a case versus 20 joints in 20 grams.(Remember that there are 28.3 grams in one ounce.)

However, I agree that the difference in punishment between the two offenses is bizarre, especially considering the possibility that DUI can result in serious and possibly fatal accidents.

I know of a fellow who was unable to obtain his antipsychotic meds and ended up attacking a couple with a baseball bat. He was sentenced to 10-20 years, in contrast to those convicted of manslaughter stemming from DUI, who received VERY considerably shorter sentences.

Draw your own conclusions....

And remember, though hard to believe, there are still those out there who would bring Prohibition back in a breath if they could! (But it'll never happen.)

[karostay]

About the same for speeding ticket
less then an OUI

[Golfingnut]

And with so many things to worry about, we inappropriately penalize pot smokers.

Look at this site for issues that need looking at.


Annual Causes of Death in the United States | Drug War Facts (http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Causes_of_Death#sthash.eRKsJN8d.dpbs)

[leftyf]

Did you see Justin Bieber on the news again this morning? He and his Dad were smoking so much pot on the plane that the pilots and flight attendant were complaining about getting high from the smoke.

[Bavarian]

Send him back to Canada!

[ilovetv]

Single user possession/use, and quantites large enough to sell and traffic (to school kids) are two different things.

[ilovetv]

Did you see Justin Bieber on the news again this morning? He and his Dad were smoking so much pot on the plane that the pilots and flight attendant were complaining about getting high from the smoke.

"He and his Dad"......no, it is "He and his Enabler".

And "He and his Milker of Cash Cow".

[Cisco Kid]

Send him back to Canada!

And the Polar a Vortex with him.

[Bavarian]

I think the numbers are meaningless, that is, 24 beers in a case versus 20 joints in 20 grams.(Remember that there are 28.3 grams in one ounce.)

However, I agree that the difference in punishment between the two offenses is bizarre, especially considering the possibility that DUI can result in serious and possibly fatal accidents.

I know of a fellow who was unable to obtain his antipsychotic meds and ended up attacking a couple with a baseball bat. He was sentenced to 10-20 years, in contrast to those convicted of manslaughter stemming from DUI, who received VERY considerably shorter sentences.
Draw your own conclusions....

And remember, though hard to believe, there are still those out there who would bring Prohibition back in a breath if they could! (But it'll never happen.)

So FL does not have an exemption for medical emergencies like MD has. That is in cases of medical distress, you are excused. Like if one has a heart attack.

[kittygilchrist]

How's this for not justice: high schooler who's 17 dating a girl 17. Consensual sex. He turns 18. Sexual offender on a minor, two years in prison.

[rubicon]

The ill affects of alcohol abuse are so common today that we don't even notice it any longer. binge drinking by kids until they go unconscious, people slaughtered on the highways and the beat goes on. Why because it was socialized and normalized and now well that's what people believe alcohol is for. Now we have dopers and slick politicians that want tax money trying to socialize and normalize pot. Yet we have stores like CVS that will no longer sell tobacco products. We are more concerned about a kid drinking a soda than getting his/her hands on pot

We want kids to live a healthy lifestyle yet we advertise alcohol and pot as normal. Hollywood demonstrates how kool it all is.

We celebrate people like Whitney Houston, Heath Ledger, Philip Seymour Hoffman et al when we should be saying to kids see if you play with fire you get burned

Children should be handled like a protected species and instead we are filling their heads with all the things one needs to self destruct.

some people simply have no common decency

[twinklesweep]

The ill affects of alcohol abuse are so common today that we don't even notice it any longer. binge drinking by kids until they go unconscious, people slaughtered on the highways and the beat goes on. Why because it was socialized and normalized and now well that's what people believe alcohol is for....

I am not condoning alcohol abuse, but let's be honest and take into account when "it was socialized and normalized and now well that's what people believe alcohol is for." This is very, very far from being a recent phenomenon, and let's face it: For countless decades parents who drink have been a more than effective role model for their children than something that has suddenly appeared in recent times....

[Olyrain]

Florida Penalties for Purchasing or possessing more than 20 grams of marijuana is a third degree felony, punishable with up to Five years in prison (Fl. Stat. Ann. § 893.13(2)(a).)

Florida Penalties for DUI First Conviction
Fine - $250 to $500
Community Service - 50 Hours
Probation - Not more than 1 Year
Imprisonment - Not more than 6 Months

Humm, I think the law makers got this one backwards. Keep in mind, there is 24 beers in a case. There is approximately 20 cigarettes in 20 grams.


I couldn't agree more. No one in my family uses marijuana but all of us, from our 28 year old son to my 97 year old father-in-law voted in the Washington State election to legalize it. My father-in-law is a retired professor emeritus in pharmaceutical chemistry from the U.W. He sees in his assisted living facility, the number of people taking huge amounts of pain killing medication with terrible side effects all legal under Drs. orders. Washington State has a relative young population. What is tragic is that a large number of Florida residents could have an improved quality of live with marijuana. Interesting note: Israel and some labs are growing strains of marijuana that have high pain killing properties and very low psychological highs. It will be interesting if big pharma can continue to stigmatize marijuana use if this new strain is successful.

[ilovetv]

Kids (and adults) ingesting too much edible pot is causing a sharp rise in ER visits due to pot-related complications. It is well documented in many sources online. This is one:

Marijuana ER visits on the rise
By Dr. Dan Hehir

In January of 2014, Colorado became the first state to allow the retail sale of marijuana for recreational use. At the Telluride Medical Center, one trend that has accompanied the legalization is an increase in the number of patients seen for marijuana related complications.

The problem seems to be associated with high dosage edible marijuana products.

Marijuana is not just sold in its natural, smokable state. It's also made available as ingestible marijuana cookies, brownies, sodas, candies, gummy bears, pastries, olive oil, spaghetti sauce, tinctures, and more. Edibles generally have high doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient in marijuana.

It's important from a public health perspective to examine why this is and to educate the public on some pitfalls associated with using marijuana.

I have served in emergency departments for over 15 years. During those first ten years I don't recall treating a single case of an adverse reaction to marijuana. This changed as medicinal marijuana use became more prevalent. Now, after the legalization of recreational marijuana, I'm noticing a dramatic increase in emergency visits related to the drug.

The effects of ingesting THC, compared to smoking it, take much longer to manifest. Often people keep ingesting only to realize too late that they took too much.

Not unlike alcohol, you can get widely differing effects from marijuana depending on how it's used and the dosage.

Smoking marijuana gives the user a dose of roughly 5mg, although this depends greatly on the concentration of THC in the marijuana and how it's smoked. Colorado law limits the THC content in an edible to 100mg.

Eating just one 100mg edible would be like smoking 20 hits of marijuana. This may be possible for a heavy user, but for many it's enough to create problems.

I've treated people in the emergency room who ate one cookie but didn't feel anything so they reached for a second and a third. When it all finally kicked in they were in trouble.

The majority of patients reporting marijuana related emergencies at the Telluride Medical Center have the same symptoms: severe nausea and vomiting, anxiety, elevated heart, respiratory and blood pressure rates.

The reaction resembles someone who is having a severe anxiety attack and often patients are worried they're having a stroke or a heart attack. Some fear they are going to die. Treatment with anti-anxiety and anti-nausea medications can be very helpful.

Another problem that concerns me is that THC in soda, candy, and cookies can be luring to children.

A recent study published by the journal JAMA Pediatrics reported a spike in the number of young children treated at Children's Hospital Colorado for accidentally eating marijuana treats. The study found that in the two years after marijuana laws were liberalized in 2009, 14 kids were treated for accidental ingestion. In the four years before the change, the study found no children had been hospitalized for accidental ingestion......"

Marijuana ER visits on the rise (http://tellmed.org/patient-information/local-health-concerns-1/marijuana-edibles-sends-some-to-er)